JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — On Wednesday, the city of Jacksonville held its first two workshops in Mandarin to facilitate the idea of creating a community advocacy group called the “Mandarin Area Preservation Project.”
The first meeting was held at Mandarin High School in the morning and the second takes place at the Mandarin Senior Center from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
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“We’re here today to help build a consensus on creating an entity that will facilitate with one voice a community of neighborhoods,” Jacksonville City Councilman Michael Boylan (R-District 6) said.
Boylan represents Mandarin. He secured over $150,000 from the District 6 Strategic Initiative fund to hire consultants to help facilitate this grassroots initiative.
Once the group is formed, it would have to be able to stand on its own.
Boylan said the purpose of the entity would be to preserve the character and quality of the neighborhoods, and keep people informed about ongoing issues.
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“To head off the concerns that may be raised … and the frustration that people have saying, ‘I didn’t know how to deal with this,’ now they do,” Boylan said.
“I love the idea of this committee to be able to represent our area of Jacksonville,” Fred Pozin said.
Pozin has lived in Mandarin for over 40 years. He said this sort of group would greatly benefit the area.
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“We have to bring the community together to be one singular voice, talking to our leadership downtown being able to say ‘here’s what we want, here’s our vision for our community,’” Pozin said. “I love the idea of this committee to be able to represent our area of Jacksonville.”
Applications to be on the steering committee are open. They are due on August 10.
Those who have questions are asked to contact Lara Diettrich at (904) 501-6622 or by email at ldiettrich@halff.com.
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